5 Common Medical Billing Errors to Avoid

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5 Common Medical Billing Errors to Avoid

• In the medical billing and coding world- any
  error can turn out to be a costly affair. It is a
  well-known fact that healthcare providers receive
  the largest percentage of their revenue through
  processing successful claims. One wrongly spelled
  name, one transposed digit, a badly written
  documentation, can have a domino effect when
  filing claims. Hence to help aid in minimizing
  rejected and denied claims, certain steps and
  back-checks are very essential. Remember the old
  adage Haste makes Waste! And we wouldnt want
  all those efforts to lead to loss of revenue.
  Below are 5 common medical billing errors to be
  aware of and avoid
• Common medical billing errors
•  
• 1. Wrong or misspelled information
• This could be disastrous for the patient or
  insurance provider. Misspelled names, wrongly
  entered Insurance identification numbers, or even
  inaccurate patient names can lead to rejection or
  denial of claims which would mean a loss of
  revenue affecting the Revenue Cycle
  Management process.
• Solution Dont accept forms blindly, but run a
  check to ascertain that all basic information has
  been properly entered.
•  

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5 Common Medical Billing Errors to Avoid
2. Verification of insurance coverage This is
very essential at the initial stage, even before
filling in the patients name. Here the front
office needs to be very vigilant about the
patients insurance coverage. Solution Double-ch
eck with the front office and verify members
eligibility insurance coverage every time service
is provided as coverage can be terminated or
change.   3. Transposed or invalid diagnosis
code Inputting an invalid code for Diagnosis
and/or procedure can lead to claims be denied
and/or rejected. Codes for both are updated
annually, so great attention has to be paid when
one bills for codes commonly employed in your
practice as they may change or be
deleted. Solution Always ensure one has the
most updated version of the coding books, and
recheck the commonly billed codes every
quarter/year.
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5 Common Medical Billing Errors to Avoid
4. Billing wrongfully for medical
services This could be in the form of either
billing for the same procedure more than once or
for services never performed. Errors happen in
billing when a procedure or test has been
cancelled, and the patient is still billed. This
could also lead to what is known as upcoding or
unbundling and could rebound by paying a penalty
or even be taken as committing fraud. Solution P
erform simple chart audits to ensure all parts of
a claim are billed correctly.   5.
Documentation This in very essential in any
healthcare service provided be it at a
specialist providers clinic or a hospital or
even when providing ambulatory service.
Documenting every aspect of the service provide
to the smallest detail is essential for coders
and billers to avoid all the above
mistakes. Solution Being Meticulous and
diligence and conducting the medical billing
process with great vigilance is very essential to
minimize errors and make the medical claims
process effective and efficient.
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5 Common Medical Billing Errors to Avoid
Thus, being aware of the nuances like knowing
the difference between rejected and denied
claims, and knowing the simple slips or errors
that can be made  can help avoid or at least
minimize errors to facilitate a healthy and
effective Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)
process. Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) is a
leading medical billing company providing
complete revenue cycle solutions. To know more
about our medical billing and coding services,
contact us at info_at_medicalbillersandcoders.com/888
-357-3226.